KBA's PrintHouseService subsidiary has landed a contract to service and replace bearers and cylinder bearings on the 18 manroland Colorman presses at Axel Springer SE's Ahrensburg, Berlin and Essen sites.

The predictive maintenance programme is based on smart data analysis, enabling the condition of cylinder bearings on the presses to be accurately established by measuring movement.

PHS says possible damage to cylinder bearings can be precisely located, and signs of wear are detected before printing problems - such as defective cylinder journals or gears - occur. The highly loaded bearers on the impression cylinders are also checked and set, factors critical to good printing quality.

The KBA subsidiary focusses on service and commissioned work on non-KBA presses.